Time Depot is the exclusive distributor of Suunto watches in the Philippines. Call 898-1491 for more information.

The beach was calm on Saturday morning. There was little indication of the rough conditions offshore. The boats were prepared with the Suunto logos and stickers on mast, boom and hulls, and looked really great for the start of this great event. 

While waiting for the fashion photographers and other camera crews to arrive, we clowned around a bit and did some of our own "fashion photography".  Here Elle Singson, Raul and Ichay Bulaong in the Suunto uniforms designed by Carol Pablo.  It was a great way to relax while waiting for the "unique" start that Race officer Jerry Rollin had prepared. 

The start was from behind a line on the beach, and at the gun, you were supposed to grab a beer and drink it and run to the boat. But in the clowning around I think we drank all the beer because there weren't enough beers left to go around at the start! No matter. At the start horn, the cold contents of the cans didn't get drunk anyway, they mostly  ended up on peoples heads and down other peoples backs!! Certainly it was a great way to start off a weekend that was to prove to be a tremendous amount of action and fun! 

 Upon hitting the water, it became immediately obvious how strong the wind really was. The 8 Hobie 16s racing in the lee of boracay island faced 25 knot gusts that  resulted in multiple capsizes and interesting racing. But the seasoned racers fresh from the Philippine Hobie Challenge, took it in easy stride. By the end of the morning, the scores were so close that there was a a three way tie for first place!. 

 Conditions calmed a bit after lunch, with less gusts, but crews were still double trapezing in every race.  PRO Jerry Rollin provided an interesting variety of courses which included beach starts, and finish lines just yards from the beach to make for a real party atmosphere. The longest legs were wild reaching legs about 100 yards offshore, running parallel to the famous powder sands of Boracay beach.  Here, Suunto Regatta winner Mark Haswell, and Crew, Anna Katigbak, lead the fleet while the TV crew from  ABS-CBN's "Sports Unlimited" take up the chase at full throttle. 

There was plenty of bumping grinding and ass on the water, but this was most definitely matched tit for tat on land at the beach parties! 
From Left to right, Tight leeward mark rounding (whose is bigger? you decide!); The traditional Boracay Bikini open; and Mylene Dizon and Dyan Castillejo-Garcia pick up their Kyaking prizes sponsored by Smart Zed.  Keren Pascual certainly knows how to organize a Famous beach party! 

 Camaraderie and fun ruled at the event, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Standing: Nestor Soriano. Clockwise from left: Guen, Elle, Anna, Art, Raul, Ichay, Michelle, Carol at breakfast looking unbelievably perky at Sunday breakfast after Saturday night's party. 
 

See you there next year!!!

 The Suunto Mariner  watch is available in the Philippines from Time Depot.  

 Telephone: 8981491 for more information about all Suunto Watches.  

Main store at 3rd level Rockwell Center, Makati.   Branches in: SM Pampanga,  Davao  
 

The Suunto Mariner is a multifunction watch conceived for sailors.   Technical details  Sailing Timer  countdown from (up to) 10 minutes to 0     signals every minute and, during the last minute, every 10 seconds    automatic stopwatch starts at end of countdown    5 days stopwatch (120h)    up to 50 time markers  Barometer     Absolute pressure range 8.90 – 32.40 inHg / 300 – 1100 mbar     Sea level pressure range 27.25 – 31.90 inHg / 921-1080 mbar     Resolution 0.05 inHg / 1 mbar     Difference measurement function allows zeroing of the barometer for following e.g. overnight changes in barometric pressure and temperature     Automatic 4-day memory stores pressure information in one hour intervals for the last six hours, then in six hour intervals     Adjustable sea level pressure function  Compass      Shows bearing in degrees and cardinal or half-cardinal point     North-South arrow     Bearing tracking function displays locked bearing, actual bearing and the difference between these declination adjustments     Bubble level to indicate level position to ensure +/- 2-3 degree reading accuracy     Declination adjustment  Watch     12/24 hour clock     Calendar pre-programmed to 2089     3 daily alarms     Stopwatch, range 23:59,59     Countdown timer, range 23:59, 59  Other Features     Backlight, electroluminescent     User-replaceable battery     Waterproof to 100ft / 30m     Weight 1.9 oz / 55g     Easy-to-read display